Improvement in combined time and percussion fuses for explosive shells



s. &A. M, tSAWYER.

Shell-Fuse. v

'Patented Aug. 12, 1862.

nes es UNTED STATES sYLvANUs snwrnn AND A. M. sAWYnn, orl rrronnune, Mns-snonusnrrs. l,

PATENT OFFICE.,

IMPROVEMENT 1N coMBlNED TIME ANDEERCUSSIN Fusts FOR EXPLosn/E sHELLs.

Specification forming part of Leiters Patent No. 36,!72, dated August F2, 1862.

To all whom it may concern.-`

Bc it known that we, SvrvANUs SAWx-'nn and ADDIsoN M. SMVYER, of Fitchburg, in the county of Vorcester and State of Massa chusetts, have invented a new and useful Im y provcmeut in Fuses, which we style a Conibinat1on-l1usc5 and We do hereby declare that the following lis a full, clear, and exact dgscription of the nature and operation of our invention, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification,- in Which- Figure 1 represents in scctioirone form of our combination-fuse as'applied to the projectile patented to Sylvanus Sawyer, November 13,1855. Fig. 2 is a pian of the same. Fig. 3 represents another form of the combinationfnse applied to an iron cylindroeonical shell, and Fig. 4 is plan of the same'. Fig. 5 represents another form of the combinationfuse appliedto the before-mentioned projectile of S. Sawyer, havingthetimefuse ofthe kind known as the Bormann fuse.7 Fig. 6 isa plan, and Fig. 7 ahorizontal section on the line X of Fig. 5 of the metallic fuse-casefor the same,

The subjectmatter of ourr invention relates to the construction offuses tobe usedfor ploding shells, or for any Jother equivalent purpose, but is Amore particularly adapted to.

shells or projectiles used in ritlcdcannon; and it consists in combining in one fusestock both a time-fuse," so called ,'or av fuse which is p ignited by the fire of the gun and burns for a definite. length of time beforeignitingthecharge in the shell and a percussion fuse or cap which is ignited by its striking against any hard body, so that the explosion of the shell may be made to take place either before ergatter striking. The time-fuse employed in -the combination may be of any of the well. .known forms, and filledl with .any suitable burning composition or charge, and the repre Asentation of Vthree forms of fuse in the drawings is simply for the purpose of explaining the principle 'and several of the modes in which we have contemplated theV application of that principle or character which distinguishes it from other inventions as applied to each of three well-known kindsof time-fuse and -to two .well-known kinds of shell, one of which is coated with a soft metal and the other not, which are examples of the application of the invention to. both these conditions, and' `form.

Yof the fuses ordinarily used without any modilcation either in the manner of constructing the shell or of loading it.-

In the drawings, A represents the iron shell,

and B the leadvv covering of the shell. (Shown in Figs. 1 and 5.) C is-thc fuse-stock. D is the fnsc-case. 4Eis the fuse-powder. Fisthc fnlminating-powder- (i is the strikingsurface, against which the fnlminatingpowder is driven to explode it. In Figs. 1 and 3the fusepowder is placed in a cylindrical paper case, D.in the usual Way; butin Fig. 5 the fuse,- powder is placed in a spiralv channel in the leaden case -l),\vhi chis .fitted in a recessin thefuse-stock C. Between the contiguous surfaces of the case D and stock C is placed a thin layer of cork, K, which is pressed between them, and serves to prevent the-fire from passing across the partitions between the convolutions of the chan nehand insures itsburning only in the direction of the convolutions to the ecn- .tral oriiice, c,V through which, and also through the holes "d in the plugG, the fire passes to the bursting-charge. The outside of the fuse-ease is lshown in Fig.. "6, and is provided with marks and figures opposite to the channel to'indicatc the point at which a hole is to be cut through the case to, the powder to give the proper length of fuse to burn the time required. Itis a modicationLin fornrof the Bormann fuse,

and acts in the same manner. The fire-from the fnlminating-wafer F. also passes through` the holes d in the plug G to the charge in Fig. 5, and through thespace d between the fuse-stock C and plug G in Fig. l, and through the hole dat the inner end of the fuse-stockt()` in Fig. 3, in a perfectly obvious manner. In the combination of the fulminating-fuse with each of the forms of time-fuse mentioned thc p principle is the same. The surfaces which explode the fuhninating wafer or fuse are held asunder by some agency that will yield to the forccof the blow' when .the fuse strikes a hard bodyat a high velocity, but will not yield to any ordinary blow that it might accidentally receive. This is provided for in Figs. land 5 by theupsctting 'of the lead B. asis described zin Fig'. 3by driving the Wooden fuse-plug H,

Vtapering socketgso'as to explode it against'the surface G, This prineiplefmayobviously be' ply-ing it to the different kinds of fuses and difrepresented.

in-S. Sawyers patent .before mentioned, ana

which carries the fulmmating-fuse'F into its with one-shell, as is seen in im Englsh patent granted to Win. G. Armstong, April 10,1858, yand therefore do not, broadly claim such employment of'theltwo'fuses. y

, What we clann as our 1nvention,-and' desire The combination, 1n one fuse-stock, of apercussion-fuse with a time-fuse, substantially as dscribed.

Oetober 12,1861.

NVitnesses: 4

5 v W; S136; REDMAN';

sYLVANUs SAWYER.' A. M. f SAWYER. 

